picca

Forms

pīcca f (genitive pīccae); first declension^[1] Niermeyer and Köbler head it as pīca, with the spellings pīcha, pīcea, pīcca and pīcta.^[2][3]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[1] Wiktionary considers it possibly from Vulgar Latin *pīccō (“to strike, sting”), itself perhaps a borrowing from Frankish *pikkōn (“to peck, strike”); alternatively it may come from *pīk (compare Dutch pik (“pick, pickaxe”)) or from pīcus (“woodpecker”).^[1] Köbler derives it from Proto-Germanic *pīkaz (“point”),^[3] and Etymonline calls the Romance word for a pike a general continental term, perhaps ultimately of Germanic or Celtic origin.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source for the word, under all its spellings, is the Hisperica Famina; he glosses it as a pike, a broad hoe and a bird's beak.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Medieval Latin used it for a pickaxe or mattock,^[2][3] and for the weapon, the pike.^[1][3] A British source of the 15th century, cited by Latham, applies it to the fish.^[3] Wiktionary gives Old French pike as its descendant, with Middle French and French pique,^[1] which gave English pike, the weapon, in the 1510s.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 550 – The Hisperica Famina has the word.^[3]
• 1446 – A British source uses it for the pike, the fish.^[3]
• 1510s – English pike, the weapon, is borrowed from French pique.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A pickaxe, mattock.^[2][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) A pike, the weapon.^[1][3]
3. (Medieval Latin) A bird's beak.^[3]
4. (Medieval Latin) The pike, the fish.^[3]

Related words

• English pike

Usage notes

Niermeyer files the word under the spelling pica, which is also the Classical word for the magpie, pica.^[2][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press